Dancing

Dancesport

A question I often get asked is, "What is dancesport?" It's a question that had me thrown in first year as I assumed it was some kind of gymnastic/aerobic form of dance. Fortunately a friend corrected my misapprehension in time for me to take my first few lessons in what is still colloquially known as Ballroom and Latin dancing from the Oxford University Dancesport Club. (Some cynics would suggest that "Dancesport" was a more athletic-sounding term invented to improve the sport's odds of being accepted into the Olympics.) I discovered that I wasn't half bad and quickly became one of the better male dancers in the beginners class.

Buoyed by these initial experiences, I decided to try out for the Dancesport Team in my second year. While I did not make the main team, I was invited to join the beginners team (called the Pre-Team) and was partnered with Kathleen Riddle, and despite her being the same height as me (and thus taller with heels) we danced fairly well together. I had always fancied myself as a ballroom specialist, and it quickly became clear that Kathleen was as well. At our first competition, the Warwick 1999 Dancesport Competition, we finished 6th in the Beginners Quickstep final and made the semi-finals in the Beginners Waltz. We struggled more on the Latin side, getting knocked out in the quarter-finals of the Beginners Cha and first round of the Beginners Jive. We worked hard on our dancing throughout the year and endured the grind of the university dance circuit. The competitions took us all over the country to the Nottingham 1999 Varsity Competition, the Sheffield Social 2000, the Southern Universities Dance Association (SUDA) 2000 Competition hosted by the University of Bath, and the Inter-Varsity Dance Association (IVDA) 2000 Competition hosted by the University of London. Our confidence increased enough that we branched out beyond the beginner events to compete at more advanced levels in the four main dances as well as in Open Rumba and Open Viennese Waltz at Sheffield. (I also competed in Basic Rumba at Nottingham with Bojana Pejic.) Our results on the Latin side improved over the year, but we were never able to recreate our initial success on the ballroom side and finished without any more finals appearances. Nevertheless, we played our part in helping Oxford win the Beginners Team Trophy at IVDA, and the main team were crowned National Champions as well.

The final club event of the year was the Dancesport Cuppers Competition. I competed in the Quickstep event with Angela Cleary for the Somerville A-Team. Angela had never danced in competition before, but she had danced as a child and was a quick learner. We put together an intricate routine and motored around the floor. We were looking good, but got eliminated in a very tough semi-final. The other combinations in the A-Team were also working well together, and the team finished 4th in the competition. The B-Team also did well to end up 13th overall.

That one year of competition was enough toil for me, so I have decided to stick to social dancing. I started the next year by attending medals classes regularly. Sadly my other commitments did not allow me enough time to take any classes, so I was reduced to the occasional social dancing sessions. I do hope to get another opportunity to take it up again.

Scottish Dancing

Well, that year came and last year I was regularly attending classes run by the Oxford University Scottish Dance Society. I found the simplicity and egalitarian nature of Scottish country dance to be a refreshing change from the grind of ballroom competition. I had an absolute blast at the my first ceilidh, held at the end of Michaelmas term in conjunction with the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society. I also made an impression with the RSCDS members, who refused to believe that I had started country dancing less than two months earlier.

I have my year of ballroom competition to thank for that. The added poise and attention to technique instilled in me has greatly benefited my country dancing. It has also won me an invite to join the Ealanta team, a group within OUSDS that does demonstrations at various events. The first event I did was a Robbie Burns' Night hosted by the Oxford Caledonian Band. We demonstrated two dances and ran a ceilidh on the night. My performance during the dems was not outstanding, but I made no major mistakes either. While teaching members of the audience to dance during the ceilidh was tough work, I did get my first sampling of haggis, which was quite tasty. It also marked the first time I had ever worn a kilt. The one I borrowed was fitted to someone significantly taller than I and the kilt stretched nearly down to my socks. It was also rather bulky and at times itchy.

I also attended a couple of Highland dancing classes at the beginning of the year. Highland is much more flamboyant and athletic than country dancing and is not intended as a social dance. Unfortunately there were no Highland teachers available for the year, so I was unable to continue with it.

Unfortunately I was absent for the latter half of that year in Switzerland. I am also too busy to attend classes at the moment, so I am without any form of dancing this year.